The First Day of School

In the predawn darkness I kickstarted my moped for a short ride to the train station to catch the commuter rail to Boston for the first day of orientation. In my precise, borderline obsessive planning the night before, I had forgotten to check the gas level in the tank. As the bike bounced and slipped down the slimy cobblestone street beside the Old State House, the engine sputtered and came to a stop. In my early morning stupor, I panicked, but then remembered to flip the knob to access the reserve fuel tank. With another quick kick, the engine whirled and I was back on my way to station.

In Boston, I was greeted by many excited and slightly bewildered faces of students young and old. We were told that this would be a rare opportunity to meet some of the students from other majors within the school. Predictably, myself and most other people did the opposite, scanning the room and matching themselves up with others in the same field of study.

The directors of the school gave a predictable but encouraging introduction, stressing the historic significance of a plan to expand the school into a new facility next year and then breaking us up into our individual majors.

In the smaller groups, we did quick introductions and had a chance to meet the first and second year instructors. I was captivated by Shane, the first year instructor who was passionate, articulate, and reassuring about the bold decision we had all made to come to the school. Rich seemed a bit less professorial but was eager to tell us about the wonderful projects and opportunities that lay ahead. I was surprised to see that three of the thirteen students were female, and that I seemed to be one of the younger students. I was a bit relieved to hear that many had previously worked in different fields and most had unrelated college degrees. It will be interesting to see how peoples' stories unfold as we inevitably learn more about each other in this small cohort. It is immediately clear that the students have a clear and powerful desire to be in the classroom. The energy is palpable. Tomorrow is the first day of learning, I am excited to push on.